#jatp x you

[thatbitchmabel]

Happy juke jeudi! Have a goofy meme redraw (oh image under the cut)

[g1rld1ary]

new release ; luke patterson x fem!reader

➻ synopsis: you'd been playing julie and the phantom's new album on repeat all day before luke comes knocking on your door, and you end up going to dinner with your favourite band

➻ word count: 2515

➻ content: she/her pronouns for reader

➻ wrote this on a whim tonight so enjoy my first luke fic lol !!

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You tapped your fingers impatiently against your desk, willing Spotify to reload quicker, visualising the album you knew was dropping in two minutes. Finally, after 120 seconds that could have been an hour, Julie and the Phantom’s new album was out and available, and you actually might’ve been the first person to listen to it.

You’d been following Julie and the Phantoms since their very first performance was put on YouTube. Admittedly you’d been hopping on the bandwagon — your friends had been raving about it at school and force-fed you their songs, but you’d been genuinely addicted to their music ever since.

Pressing play on the new album you got up, leaving it to play as you began on your errands for the day. You danced around your apartment, putting away the washing and vacuuming and humming along to the singles that had already been released.

Luke was on his way home from his morning run when he could have sworn he could hear his own voice. Stopping, he pulled an earbud out of his ear, looking around for the source of the music. And there, on the third floor, was you. You were out on the balcony, organising the cute set of outdoor furniture you’d shoved in there and dancing ridiculously to Luke’s personal favourite song of the album. He let out a quiet laugh to himself, admiring the carefree way you jumped around, miming the chorus you’d learnt into a can of what appeared to be bug spray. He smiled once more before heading into the building, musing about the odds of having a Phantoms fan live on his floor.

Back up in his apartment he could still hear the music, both your open windows making it sound clear despite not being obnoxiously loud. Luke just shook his head, heading straight to the shower and turning on his own music so he didn’t have to be victim to his own voice all day.

An hour later, you were still listening. You’d just finished the album and evidently wanted to commit it to memory before the day was through. Luke thought it was adorable, and he could feel the gratitude flowing through every inch of him. This was why he wrote music, to resonate with people and make them happy. Plus, now that he knew the cute girl who’d just moved into the apartment opposite him liked his band, he figured he could build up some confidence to talk to you.

Morning turned to afternoon, and you were still playing his album. Luke was flattered, but in slight disbelief. He couldn’t believe you weren’t sick of it yet, though he supposed you didn’t get the same ick he did when listening to his voice. Hearing you learning the words was another bonus, your voice floating in through his kitchen window as he cooked. He thought it was lovely, though far from professional. It was an unreal experience hearing your disembodied voice stumbling through the lyrics, making up ones you’d evidently misheard and improvising your own riffs on top of Julie’s.

Luke wondered whether it was possible to develop a crush on someone based on just their voice. Yeah he thought you were cute the few times he’d seen you coming or going through his street facing window, but your laughter when your voice cracked had him weak in the knees.

When you were still playing his music by four o’clock — you’d branched out to mixing in the rest of their discography by then — he was a little worried for your sanity. Flattered and grateful for the streams, but concerned all the same. At the same time he was worried for himself. He’d offered to host his band and friends for a private celebration of the album release after the official party the night previous, and he thought it may be a little on the nose if you were still streaming their music into the night. He could already hear Alex making fun of him for living next to a fangirl (he did secretly hope you were a fangirl of him though).

So, whilst it wasn’t exactly the meet-cute he’d hoped for, Luke found himself knocking on your door. He knocked again shyly when he heard you turn down the volume, clearly trying to see if you’d heard right. A few soft footsteps on the other side of the door and it was cracking open, your curious expression greeting him. You’d only just moved in and didn’t know anyone to be visiting.

Luke watched you go through the seven stages of grief in real time. Confusion at an unexpected visitor, recognition of him, and then a million shades of humiliation as you realised you’d been listening to his music all day and he could hear. God, you probably looked like an obsessed fangirl (you were, but you didn’t want Luke Patterson to know that). With an embarrassed sound coming from the back of your throat, you asked Luke to give you twenty seconds of privacy. He agreed politely and you shut the door quickly. Slapping a hand to your mouth, you let out a silent scream, trying to let out all your anxious, embarrassed energy as quickly as possible, shaking your limbs about so you could stand still when you inevitably had to grovel for forgiveness to Luke.

Reopening your door, you were taken aback by how at ease Luke looked. And how much hotter he was in person, but you tried to push that thought to the back of your head for the sake of coherent conversation.

“Hi,” You said, resisting the urge to ramble out apologies.

“Hi,” He replied with that stupidly charming grin he wore in all his publicity shoots. “I’m Luke.”

“I know.” Fuck, you didn’t mean to say that. “Um, obviously. I’m sure you’ve heard all the…” You gestured inside to your apartment where his album was still playing quietly. You should’ve turned it off.

“Please don’t be embarrassed, it’s really cute.” Now your blush was for a totally different reason, your favourite singer was calling you cute? You had to be dreaming.

“Is there something I can do for you?” You asked, still unsure of the purpose of the visit, though you weren’t complaining.

“Oh!” Luke looked as if he really had forgotten why he’d come, but covered himself with an easy laugh, “I was just wondering if you could turn down your music a bit? It’s not too loud or anything, it’s not bothering me! It’s just, I’m having the band over tonight and as much as we’re all proud of the album, it feels a bit conceited to have it playing as we hang out privately, y’know?” You were nodding vigorously before he could finish his sentence, spilling out apologies for even playing it in the first place.

“Seriously don’t apologise,” He assured you, catching your eye in a way that made you feel like you couldn’t look away (not that you would’ve wanted to), “I really appreciate you being a fan and supporting us.” In that moment, entranced in his deep honey eyes, you honestly would have done whatever Luke Patterson asked of you, you were completely his. Maybe your parasocial relationships needed some examining.

Forcing yourself to end the moment despite your internal desires, you averted your eyes to the floor and Luke coughed slightly, both of you somewhat dazed.

“Right, well, it was really nice meeting you. Big fan. Guess I’ll see you around?” You said awkwardly, stepping back inside the threshold of your flat. Luke nodded in the same manner, and you were about to shut the door when he called for you to wait.

“Do you wanna come over later? You can meet the band, and it’s always helpful to make some friends in the building. I, uh, know you’re new here.” You nodded, more than surprised, but you sure as hell weren’t gonna turn down this opportunity.

“Yeah, that sounds nice. Thanks.” Luke named a time and you parted ways, neither of you catching the backwards glances you both chanced.

Inside your apartment was a whirlwind of stress. What did you wear for a dinner with your favourite band with an hour’s notice? You might’ve actually tried on half your wardrobe before deciding on your favourite jeans (maybe the ones that made your ass look impeccable, but who’s to say?) and a simple top. It wasn’t the most exciting outfit you could have come up with, not by a long shot, but you didn’t want to make a single wrong decision tonight. All you needed to do was be completely perfect and impress Julie and the Phantoms and maybe get Luke to like you back. Easy stuff.

By the time you were meant to be going you’d managed to do your makeup in a way that didn’t make you want to cry — why did it always turn out awful when you needed it to be good? Slipping your favourite hoops into your ears you were ready, and gave yourself a quick pep talk in the bathroom mirror. You’d never been one for those self-love affirmations, but they couldn’t hurt, right?

When Luke opened the door and his face broke into one of those smiles that lit up the building’s corridor, your nerves quieted themselves somewhat. He swept you under one of his arms leading you further into the apartment as if you’d been friends for years. You tried to take in what you could, and were a little jealous of how nicely his place was decorated — yours was still loaded with boxes and junk.

“Guys, meet my new friend!” Luke announced, and all the heads in the room snapped towards you.

“Um, hi,” You said meekly, remembering to tell them all your name.

“She’s new to the building and I thought it would be nice for her to make some friends!” You smiled internally — Luke had the same personality as in all the interviews you watched, which made you glad. You didn’t know what you would do if he wasn’t all that you imagined.

The night started out a little awkward, at least for you. You were so stressed about making a good impression that you felt a little robotic, answers calculated to try and get the most amount of laughs or agreements. Luke noticed this and gestured for you to take the seat between him and Julie when the meal was served, figuring you’d have the most in common with her, and he was more than happy to talk your ear off if the opportunity arose.

“So, why’d you come to California?” Julie asked, and you explained that you’d moved for school, but it was cheaper to rent the flat than live in the dorms. That in itself was an easy avenue into talking about your roommate who was never around and the classes you were taking this semester. When you asked about Nick, who was sitting on Julie’s other side, he happily joined the conversation to talk about how they got together just after the Phantoms began to get world famous and their (first) show at the Orpheum.

The dinner was loud and messy, and you began to feel right at home. With Reggie flicking beans at Alex, and Luke’s boisterous laughter ringing over conversation, there was a familial ambience to it all.

After the meal the group migrated towards the TV, and you found yourself next to Luke again, sandwiched between him and Willie, who introduced himself as Alex’s boyfriend. You recognised him from Alex’s Instagram, but you left that fact out. You found yourself making easy conversation with them, being the four who got Luke’s couch, whilst the others made themselves at home in armchairs and other seats scavenged from around the flat.

As you spoke to the couple about a restaurant in LA they were recommending, you felt a hand land on your thigh. A glance in his direction showed it was Luke’s, of course, but if his expression was anything to go by he was all but unaware, still speaking passionately to Nick about something. You tried to conceal your blush as your turned back to the gays, but the knowing looks had you hiding your face in your hands.

A movie was turned on and the chatter dulled somewhat, turned down to whispers over the dialogue. You didn’t know how you’d ended up cuddled up into Luke’s side, but you were absolutely not complaining. His arm on the back of the sofa had migrated to sitting around your waist at one point, and you were really hoping he couldn’t feel your racing heartbeat. An accidental glance in Julie’s direction showed her and Nick wiggling their eyebrows suggestively, to which you simply made a bewildered expression, hoping it conveyed how little idea you had of what was going on. Unbeknownst to you, Luke was fighting the same losing battle with the rest of the boys, who were making childish kissy faces when you weren’t looking. Luke handled it better than you, merely shrugging as if to say ‘she’s cute — what do you want me to do?’

A few hours later and the night was winding down. You took your leave after Reggie, not wanting to risk overstaying your welcome and jeopardising the friendships you hoped you were making. The remaining guests all gave you warm goodbyes, begging for you to come back again. Julie even swept you into a tight hug, making you promise you’d DM her to go out for coffee soon. Luke walked you to the door, a gentle hand on the small of your back not going unnoticed by his friends.

“Thanks for coming tonight, I’m really glad we met,” He said, and his shyer tone caught you off guard, but made you smile nonetheless.

“Thank you for inviting me,” You countered, “It was really sweet of you to introduce me to all your friends.” Luke waved it off like it was nothing, which you were sure to him it was.

“Can I see you again soon?” He asked, suddenly looking remarkably like a little puppy.

“I’m only a door away,” You grinned, “You can see me whenever you like. Hey, congrats again on the album. I’d say it’s pretty good.” When you pressed a kiss to his cheek and bade him goodnight, Luke couldn’t have resisted his cheesy grin if he’d tried.

“I love being a rockstar,” He said when he returned to his friends.

“Shut up, man,” Replied Alex, “You’re too whipped to claim any rockstar benefits on this one.”

[iamfarfromvibingrightnow]

queers watching other queers perform thus resulting in them falling in love my beloved

[venuslore]

should i start reposting all my old jatp fics now that the show is getting attention again and there could be a possible revival of the show??

[fangirls-just-want-to-have-fun]

The Descendants Trilogy and Julie And The Phantoms

Or as I like to call them -

the “Kenny Ortega, For The Love Of God, Just Let Booboo Stewart Kiss A Man” collection

[stargazing-dreamer-girl]

After the show

Pairing: alive!Reggie Peters x reader

WC: 3.2k

Summary: After being away for a few months you were finally back in Los Angeles, just in time to watch your best friend Julie perform with her band. The first time you got to see them live and get to meet them, including the cute bass player.

A/N: Here's something new which probably nobody still counted on getting from me hahah but writing has always helped me cope with some stuff and even though I hadn't pictured myself returning to this, here I am, dealing with life problems by escaping into fanfictions. So, I hope you guys still read it and like it!!

It had been a while since you saw Julie last. You had lived with your dad last semester while your mom had to go abroad for work. That left you at the other side of the country, a six-hour flight away from your best friend and your normal life.

Of course, staying at your dad's wasn't the worst. You got along great. One of the only plus sides of that move was that you could spend more time together, but you also had to get used to a new place and new people. And you missed your friends dearly. Daily Facetime calls to Julie and Flynn kept you going, but those declined in frequency as well. Everybody got busy, so these past few weeks it had been, at most, one call a week. With your upcoming move back home to California, Julie's successful debut with her band and Flynn managing them, there hadn't been a lot of time. Until now.

You were finally back in California, basking in the Los Angeles sun. The hot sand beneath your feet warmed your soul. A content smile graced your face while you were waiting for Julie and Flynn to join you. This felt like home. Definitely.

Your serene moment got interrupted as someone practically fell into you, making you tumble forward a few steps. You were able to keep standing with arms still wrapped around you. With them came a squeak and the call of your name before the figure, which turned out to be Julie, came around to your front. As soon as you saw that familiar face you pulled her into your arms again. Yep, home. "Oh my God, I missed you so much!", you said, squeezing her once more.

"Same! I can't believe you're back! Finally!" The two of you let go of each other and settled onto the sand. "Tell me everything!"

"Well, you already know basically everything," you laughed. "I mean, the last time we talked wasn't even 24 hours ago."

"I know!" Julie took ahold of your shoulders and shook you. "Way too long! I need a play-by-play of your flight."

"Uhm ok, so, when I got to the airport..." And so you told Julie everything that happened at the airport, on your flight, at the reunion with your mom, the ride home, just everything up until the point where she had joined you at the beach. "When is Flynn coming by the way? Shouldn't she be here already?" You looked around hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl amidst the other beach-goers.

"Oh yes, I forgot to say! She actually had to hang back for a bit. She was able to get us a gig tonight, totally last minute, so she had to organize some stuff, but you'll see her later when you come to the show."

"Oh, so I'm invited, huh?" You bumped her shoulder.

"Of course, you are! We made sure to have you put on the guestlist. Then you can also meet the rest of the band! They're so excited to meet you. I mean, Flynn and I always talk about you, so they're always on us about when they actually get to meet you." She laughed at the dorkiness of her friends.

She could still picture the first time you were brought up in conversation in front of them. Flynn had been late to watching the practice and when she finally did come in, she looked a little distraught. Julie had asked her what was wrong, but didn't expect that the reason for her distress was actually your distress. You had just broken up with your partner who was not ready to commit to long-distance, even just for a while, so you had called your friends in tears. The boys had immediately told Julie and Flynn to not worry about practice and call you back and be there for you. Since then, you had been topic of conversation a few times.

"Actually," she continued, "Reggie could not shut up about you being at the show today since we found out it's happening, so you can't disappoint my bassist by not showing up." Julie wiggled her eyebrows at you. That's what you get for one time mentioning that you thought the dark-haired bassist was cute and asking about him. You had kept up with Julie's band, watched all their music videos and the private photos and videos that Julie had sent you.

You felt a warmth spread over your neck and cheeks, slighty embarassed by the teasing. "Oh please, Julie, shut up." You chuckled and looked out at the waves crashing onto the beach. "Of course, I'll be there. I'm super excited to meet the band, too. And to see you perform live!" Looking back at her, you saw the spark in her eyes that had been lost for so long after her mother's death, but there it was, portraying her excitement for making and sharing her music.

The moment got interrupted by an alarm sound coming out of Julie's pocket. "Oh ok, that's me. I actually have to run now," she said while standing up and silencing her phone. "I need to prepare for the show, but I'll text you all the details and will see you there tonight! Ok, bye, love you!" She shouted over her shoulder while already walking away in a hurry. You laughed to yourself at her behavior. It hadn't changed in all this time. You stayed at the beach for a few more minutes, before deciding to go home and get ready yourself.

You looked in awe at the line in front of the club the band was playing at tonight. So many people were here to see your friend perform. It was crazy. And you actually got to walk past all these people to tell the bouncer your name and be let in before all of them. The whole experience was so surreal, but it was everything you had ever hoped for your friend. Inside was already pretty packed as well but Flynn had texted you where to find her, so you made your way through the crowd to the roped-off area at the side which was slightly elevated. You once again gave your name to the woman standing there. She scanned her clipboard before she moved aside to let you in.

You spotted Flynn pretty easily in her eye-catching outfit. She was sitting in the far corner, closest to the stage, typing away on her phone. You walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey there, stranger!"

She turned around quickly. Her eyes widened when she saw you standing there before she jumped out of her seat with a wide smile on her face. "You're here!" She pulled you into a hug. "It's so good to see you! Wait, let me look at you!" You were pushed an arms-length away, so that she could check you out from head to toe. "And you look amazing! Perfect! Show-stopping!"

"Well, I hope not. I did come here to watch the show after all." You took the seat next to Flynn's, catching up with her until the lights dimmed and the show started. You and Flynn immediately got up from your seats as the stage lights came on and illuminated your friend and the rest of the band. Julie's gaze quickly flickered up to where you and Flynn were standing before she started playing the first notes of the song. Actual tears sprung to your eyes as you watched your friend live her dream. You were so proud of her.

You watched her interact with the other band members while performing. They all seemed to have so much fun on stage and you could clearly see their passion for music shining through. More than once did your eyes glance over to the bassist. You had to admit that Reggie looked even better in person than on the screen. He had to know what he was doing when he put on that leather jacket for the performance. Damn.

When the show ended, you actually felt out of breath from all the dancing and jumping and singing along you did with Flynn. The whole concert was so much fun and you could not get rid of the smile on your lips. "So, I am in charge of getting you to Julie's for the after-show party," Flynn turned to you and explained.

"Wait, there's an actual after show party at Julie's? And her dad's fine with it?"

"Yeah, it's just a few people and as long as we clean up and don't make too much noise, he's chill. So, you coming?" Flynn held out a hand for you to take and then skillfully maneuvered you through the crowd. The ride to Julie's turned out to be Flynn's mom who greeted you with a hug. You three chatted for the whole ride, mainly about your last semester and the show, before she dropped you off at Julie's. Before driving off she reminded Flynn to be respectful and considerate of the people living in the house to which Flynn rolled her eyes, but promised to be on her best behavior.

After her mom was gone, she turned to you. "Ok, come on, we need to get some snacks and drinks out before the others arrive." She led you to the garage, which you hadn't entered in what felt like years, and pulled the doors wide open. The lights turned on and as you looked around you realized that not much had changed, except for some trinkets being strewn about here and there. You quickly helped Flynn get some drinks out of the mini fridge and onto the table as well as some snacks when the first few people already started arriving. You easily recognized Nick, one of the first to enter the garage. He hadn't changed much from when you last saw him, still had the same Golden Retriever look to him. Carrie was also easy to spot. She spotted the two of you instantly and came over to greet you. From your calls with Julie and Flynn you were already aware that the feud had ended and there was some kind of friendship blossoming now.

"Hi, girls!" She greeted both of you with a hug before she turned to you. "It's nice to see you! How long have you been back?"

"Oh, just today actually. Been quite a busy day." You made some more small talk with her while other guests arrived and Flynn went off to greet them. It wasn't long until the conersations stopped to greet the arriving band with a round of hollers and applause. The guitarist, Luke, you knew, basked in the applause, entering the garage with raised arms and a grin, ready to high-five his friends that were waiting for him. Julie, Reggie and Alex followed. They had the same grin on their faces, the performance high, but passed up on the high-fives.

Carrie excused herself, but you didn't stay standing alone for long as Julie spotted you and pulled Alex and Reggie over to you. "Guys, I want you to meet someone," she exclaimed and proudly introduced you.

Aley was the first to speak up. He had a nice smile on his face. "Hi! It's really nice to meet you! I'm Alex. Julie has told us so much about you, it's like meeting a legend." Julie hit him in the arm for that comment. "Hey! What? It's true! You're always talking about her like she's a celebrity or some kind of myth. No wonder Reggie-" He got cut off by another hit in the arm, this time from the bassist. "Alright, fine, I'll stop stalking! Anyway, nice to meet you. I'm gonna go over there to my boyfriend." He turned and walked right into the arms of a long-haired guy on the other side of the garage who had been engaged in a conversation with Luke.

You turned back to the other two still standing with you, holding back a laugh. Your gaze fell onto the one who had yet to introduce himself. His eyes were still trained on Alex' back, but as he turned towards you, he realized that your focus was already on him and his cheeks turned red. It only took him a moment to regain his cool though. "I'm Reggie. Nice to meet you!" His eyes trailed your body once over. He shot you a smile. "I can't believe you're even prettier in real life than in the pictures." That earned him another smack against the arm from Julie. He yelped. "Hey! That's not how you treat your bassist!"

"Whatever, go get Luke, I want to introduce him, too!" Rubbing his arm he left, pouting, to get the guitarist. As soon as Reggie said a few words to him, he came jumping right over and put his arms around Julie's shoulder, placing a kiss on her cheek. She chuckled a little at the display of affection. "Luke, I wanna introduce you to-"

He cut her off, saying your name himself. "You talk so much about her. How could I not know?!" He smiled brightly and pulled you into a hug. "Great to finally meet you! How did you like the show?"

"Ah, it was amazing! You all looked so great out there! I had so much fun and everything sounded great! You even played my favorite song," you admitted.

"Oh, and which one is that?" You told him your favorite song, him nodding along to your answer. "Yeah, great taste you got there!" He looked around the room as a group of guys called his name. "Alright, I gotta go entertain for a bit, but we'll definitely catch up soon!" He promised with a wink and another kiss to Julie's cheek.

"Is he always like that?" You asked her.

"Most of the time." She nodded before breaking out into a laugh which you joined.

At some later point in the evening you found yourself on the couch with a drink in your hand. Reggie let himself fall into the seat next to you. "Hi there!" You smiled at him.

"Hi!" The small smile he gave you made him look even cuter. "Sitting here all by yourself?"

"Well, I was just waiting for you to come keep me company."

"Oh." That took him by suprise. "Here I am!"

You tilted your head to the side a bit, taking him in some more. He was still wearing the leather jacket you liked so much during the show with a simple white shirt below it and a pair of jeans. "I really liked to watch you play. I wanted to tell you that before, but you left so quickly."

"Ah, thank you! Yeah." He rubbed his neck as his cheeks turned pink. "Sorry that I left so quickly. I actually did want to talk to you some more! Julie told us you were coming to watch us play, so I- we put some extra effort into making this show amazing!"

"You certainly did! How long have you been playing bass for?"

"So long I can barely remember. I learned the guitar first though," he admitted.

"So you play the guitar as well, wow! I've never had any musical ability. Julie's mom tried to teach me to play the piano a long time ago, but it was completely hopeless." You chuckled at the memory. It was right in this room so many years ago.

"Maybe the piano just wasn't the right instrument for you? I can teach you some guitar if you want. Or bass, if you prefer."

"Alright, I'll hold you to it, but really don't get your hopes up. It might end in an absolute disaster," you joked. "Let me actually give you my number, so we can set a date."

"Oh yeah, totally!" He pulled out his phone and opened it to a new contact. You put your number in and called yourself right after saving it.

"Now I have your number as well." You smiled at him before saving the number into your phone as 'that cute bassist'. You hoped he had seen the name but when you looked back at him his eyes were trained on your face.

An hour moved by as you kept sitting on that couch, talking and laughing with Reggie. Luke, Alex and Julie had each come over for a few minutes but left fairly quickly to give the two of you some space.

"Hey, do you want to get some fresh air? It's getting a bit stuffy in here," you suggested to which Reggie agreed. The doors had been closed by now to keep the noise from reaching the neighbors, so that you hadn't noticed it'd gotten a bit chilly. Before you could say or do anything Reggie already took off his jacket and laid it over your shoulders. You pulled it on tighter as you took a seat on the stairs, the smell of the leather enveloping you. It smelled good, you imagined Reggie to smell distinctly of the jacket as well.

"Can I ask you a question?" He asked warily.

"Of course." You assured him, placing a hand on his thigh.

His eyes fell from your face to your hand. "Are you flirting with me? Like, are you actually hitting on me?" His hopeful eyes found yours again as your smile turned wider.

"Yes, Reggie, I have been all evening."

"Oh, ok, good, so I didn't misinterpret anything." He laughed a little and placed his hand over yours that was still lying on his thigh. "You see, I think you're really pretty. I've thought that since Julie and Flynn showed us pictures of you for the first time. And now I know, you're really funny, too, and I'm just totally blown away by you, so I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me?"

"I would like that a lot, yes. You lnow, I've had this little crush on you for a while now that Julie and Flynn have been making fun of me for. There's something about you that really draws me in." You bit your lip, taking Reggie's attention from your eyes to your lips.

"So, uhm, can I kiss you right now?" He asked.

Your lips spread into a wider smile as you shuffled closer to him on the stairs. "Yes, Reggie, I'd love that." There wasn't much of a gap between your faces anymore now, but he took his sweet time letting you feel his breath on your lips before finally connecting them. His lips moved softly against yours. He squeezed your hand on his thigh and brought the other one up to cradle your face.

You pulled back a little to catch your breath. When there was a crash from inside the garage your gaze quickly flicked to the door to check if anyone was coming out. When nobody did, you turned back to Reggie. "Do you wanna go back inside or keep doing this?" You asked him, hoping for the latter.

"I think, I'd rather stay out here a bit longer." He smiled before catching your lips in another kiss under the starlit sky.

[happylikeasadsong]

i've been thinking a lot about these parallels

my newest obsession meets my longest one.

Luke's life was music. He didn't love anything else than that. Then he met Julie.

Carmy was the best chef at 21 and after his brother died, he wanted nothing more than fix Mike's restaurant so it could be a place ran by adults. Then he met Sydney.

just like sydcarmy, juke makes each other better:

my twinssss

so, yeah, i think a lot about them

and also about the fact that Luke brought music back to Julie's life and Carmy hires Sydney and inadvertently makes food good again for her. Both Luke and Carmy see their potential and do whatever it takes to bring it to surface. They're down BADDD

Syd's failed in the past, but Carmy sees the undeniable passion within her and harness her talent to do big things. So does Luke with Julie's talent.

bonusssss:

like, both of them fully turning around ready to follow their annoyed soulmates just tickles my heart in a different way, i guess

[bbreaddog]

Does anyone know that art piece someone made of julie and flynn asnwering “yes” to someone asking them “so are you girlfriends or best friends?” bc i don’t remember WHO made it and i have been trying to find it for like a WEEK 😩😩😩😩

[merihn]

Happy @jatpfebfanfest to @invisibleraven! I hope you like these ❤️

[loveelle]

Thank you, Jerry~ Part 5

Luke Patterson x Alive!Reader Series

Summary: After getting an afternoon free from the band, Luke decides to see his parents, only to find out something he wasn’t expecting.

A/N: Alright, I’m tired of editing this part and changing how this was going to go, so I’m gonna bite the bullet and post it. Enjoy. Hopefully it won’t have too many more parts to it, so it won’t take me forever, but please, for the love of my sanity, don’t just demand part 6 now. Tell me what you like. Please?

WC: 4.4K

SERIES MASTER

Part 5: Is this an interrogation?

---

Luke was most assuredly not fine.

At first, the rest of his bandmates wanted to ignore him being late to rehearsal, or how he always seems to have somewhere to be that isn’t with the rest of them, or how something has made him bury his nose and scribble in his song book more often than his friends have ever seen, alive or dead. Between Julie, Reggie, and Alex, none of them could figure out what was wrong with their friend.

“Do you think he got himself roped into something like the club again?” Julie asks as the three of them await Luke’s return and sit around the couch in the studio, Alex’s drumming on the coffee table in front of him kept the room from being silent in between the ideas being thrown around.

“He wouldn’t do that.” Reggie tells her and she nods, knowing how absurd the idea was in the first place. “Do you think he’s in another band?”

“He wouldn’t do that.” Alex says and Reggie lets out a deep breath of relief. Getting nowhere with figuring out what was up with his best friend, Alex lets his mind wander. Not so surprisingly, his mind wanders to Willie and he smiles unconsciously for a moment before a thought strikes him and his drumsticks slowly come to a stop. “Do you think he met someone?”

For the first time all afternoon, no one denies that idea could happen.

“What are you all sitting around for?” The three of them scramble off the couch at the sudden voice in the studio and relief floods through them all when they realize it was only Flynn and not Luke.

“We think Luke met someone.” Reggie tells her as Flynn plops next to her best friend on the couch, her mouth immediately falling open in shock.

“Like another ghost?”

Julie, Reggie, and Alex all look between each other and shrug. “We don’t know.” Alex tells her.

“Wow.” Flynn lets out a long breath. “Well, good for him.”

“Yeah.” Julie agrees, throwing her arm around her best friend. “Good for him.” Alex and Reggie nod and yet something deep in Julie’s gut tells her there might be something more to the situation. Something she can’t see just yet, or can’t make sense of, but something was going on more than Luke just causally meeting someone.

And Julie was determined to figure out exactly what was going on with Luke.

---

“Um, 536?” You tap your pen against your lip before sighing and falling back on your bed.

Wrong. You can almost imagine Jerry saying as the index card having been floating in the air in front of you slowly drops to the bed and out of the corner of your eyes, you can barely read the number 579 scribbled down in just barely legible chicken scratch.

“It’s your fault.” You grumble, shoving a pillow in your face until you hear the sound of a whiteboard pen squeaking against a little whiteboard, your newest gift to Jerry. You smile to yourself before taking a glance, only to see the word ‘how’ scribbled on it. “Well, I could barely read it!” You defend yourself but you know the excuse was weak, you were just priding Jerry this morning on how better his writing has been since the two of you had been talking. The whiteboard slaps against your arm gently as you let out a small laugh, rubbing the spot before continuing to lay down. “Let’s take a break for a bit.” You tell Jerry and immediately see the cards you’ve been using to study for the last hour tossed onto your desk and your pillows next to you shift a bit, letting you know Jerry was laying down next to you.

Luke didn’t think hard about offering to help you when he popped into your room earlier and saw you studying for your math test the next day. Your brows were scrunched and your pen had bite marks from how hard you were chewing in concentration. It was one of those moments where Luke wished he had a phone to take a picture. It was also followed by a quick smile when he flicked your lamp on a few times to get your attention. That’s what led him here, laying on his side on your bed and staring at the side of your face as he hugs your pillow tightly. You were looking up at the ceiling instead of him, but in your defense, last time you both laid on your bed like this, you tried looking at him and both of you found it too weird. You would focus on something behind him and Luke would have to scooch down in his position just so his eyes would meet yours. This, staring at the ceiling, was more preferable.

“So, how was your day?” You ask Jerry, knowing you were just with him this morning.

Luke chuckles to himself before grabbing the whiteboard and scribbling down a quick ‘good :) how was yours?’.

You sigh and shrug. “It was fine.” You say but Luke knows you well enough to know there was more to the story.

‘Still not a lot from Kendall?’ He scribbles, having to write your old friend’s name more than once as he sees you struggle to understand what he wrote. When you do understand you let out a dry chuckle before shaking your head. Luke feels awful for you, he’s seen you try and text her over the last few weeks, but you never said anything about her responding more than a text or two every once in a while. Mentally slapping himself, he wants to cheer up a little. ‘How about your new friends?’

Reading Jerry’s new question, you don’t hold back the smile on your face, something Luke loves to see. “They are amazing.” You tell him, hugging a pillow close to your chest. “I loved my old friends, but Flynn, Julie, and her band just make me feel-” you cut yourself off, unsure what you’re going to say but knowing nothing you could say could make Jerry fully understand how much you love them.

Luke can’t help himself as he scribbles a quick, “And your crush?” He knows he shouldn’t ask, especially since he is more than certain you were talking about him, despite you never actually saying his name during the talks.

Your eyes tight and look away for a moment, not wanting Jerry to see the no doubt embarrassed look on your face thinking about Luke. “Yeah, he’s pretty good too.” You finally say before looking back up at the ceiling, unaware of the beaming smile and small blush creeping up Luke’s cheeks. You’re quiet for a moment before laughing to yourself. “And there’s you.” You roll your eyes at yourself and Luke finds himself completely red in just a few moments at the prospect of what you are going to say. “You know you’re my best friend, right?” You’ve said it to Julie and Flynn on your first girls’ day a few weeks ago, but you weren’t sure if you ever told Jerry.

Not seeing Jerry pick up the whiteboard, your heart quickens. “Obviously, you don’t have to say that back, especially since I know you have other best friends, like the ones you died with- I just wanted to say that, you know, b-because you’re like my best fri- best ghost friend-”

You were rambling and Luke wasn’t a genius but he didn’t need to be one to know that you would probably keep going unless he stopped you. You keep talking as he quickly scribbles on the whiteboard, holding it in front of your face in order for you to see it.

“You’re one of my bestest friends.”

Your whole body relaxes into the bed as you read his words and you can’t help yourself as you whisper, “That’s not a really word, but I’ll take it.”

Luke rolls his eyes and uses the pillow he’s leaning on to gently hit your face. He rolls off the bed to the sound of your loud laughs, accidently hitting the desk chair next to him.

“Grab the cards while you’re up.” You point to the pile and groan as you sit up ready to start another round of studying with Jerry.

---

Luke arrives back in the studio later that night. His goofy smile at spending the afternoon with you was barely hidden before he hears his name called, his friends all gathered around the piano without him. He doesn’t think anything about it at first as he jumps on over, tossing his arms around Alex and Reggie once he’s there. “What’s going on?” He asks, unable to stop his smile from making another appearance.

The rest of the band stays quiet, looking about each other before Alex clears his throat. “Why don’t you tell us?”

Luke’s smile slowly leaves as he furrows his brows. “Is something… wrong?” He looks to Reggie but the boy can’t make eye contact, then he looks to Julie, who’s eyes are wide and also locked onto the piano in front of her. “Julie?”

She finally looks up at him and takes a shaky breath. “We just want to make sure you’re okay.”

“Okay?” Luke’s arms fall from his best friends as he takes a step back. “Is this an interrogation or something?” He jokes, hoping his friends will stop acting weird.

“What is going on with you?” Reggie speaks, keeping his head low and playing with his fingers. “These last few months, I mean, it’s like you’re not even here, and when you are, it’s like you’re not even yourself.” He finally meets Luke’s eyes. “You’ve missed rehearsals, dude. Rehearsals. You didn’t even miss those when we were still kicking!”

As his stomach twists with worry, he shrugs. “So?”

It was Alex’s turn. “You’ve been keeping secrets from us, bailing when we have plans, a-and writing love songs?” He pulls out Luke’s song book that Luke didn’t even know he left laying about.

“You went through my songbook?”

Alex shakes his head, hoping his best friend would know he’d violate that rule. “I didn’t! You just- you left it open on the table the other day and this song was on top of the pile and it’s a love song.” Alex hands the book back to Luke who takes it quickly, tucking the page back into the book. Alex rocks on his heels, unsure what the three of them should say next to Luke, possibly an apology, but Alex can’t help himself but ask, “Sunflowers?”

Luke closes his eyes tight, wishing he hadn’t left his book on the table so carelessly when he went to visit you the other night before you went to sleep. He was about to defend himself before he sees Julie’s head snap to Alex’s.

“Wait, what did you say?” She asks and for a moment, Luke gets worried. She wouldn’t make the connection between sunflowers and you… would she?

Alex furrows his brows. “Sunflowers? It’s the name of his song.” He looks from the girl to Luke before taking a step forward. “Which by the way rocks, and if it wasn’t totally a secret love song, I’d totally suggest we preform it.”

Luke only nods his head gently at Alex’s words as he focuses on Julie, whose eyes were darting back and forth in front of her before finally settling on Luke.

“Is this about Y/N?”

“What?!” Alex and Reggie gasp at the same time, their jaws practically hitting the floor at the question.

Julie doesn’t acknowledge their shock as she puts together the pieces of Luke’s mystery. “This all started when she moved here, when she moved into your house!” She was starting to get excited, her voice rising as she claps her hands together. “When she moved into your house, with a ghost in it!” At that last realization, her stomach falls and she meets Luke’s eyes, brown, depressed, and boring into her own. “Oh, Luke,” her voice was soft now, “please tell me you didn’t.”

Luke remains silent.

“You’re Jerry?” Luke doesn’t know what else to say as he grips his book tight, seeing the page titled ‘Sunflowers’ sticking out, a small flower scribbled on the top, crumpled corner.

He can barely nod before his friends watch him disappear.

---

The next day after your math test leads to you skipping the rest of the day, opting for a walk along the beach instead. One thing about moving to LA is definitely the ocean air to cheer you up. You’ve been wandering for almost a half an hour, wiping under your eyes and trying your best not to sniffle.

You considered heading back to your house and enjoying the time without your dad home or even heading back to school for the final classes, but before you could make your decision, you see Luke, sitting on the edge of the boardwalk and kicking his legs out in the air with a frown on his face.

Seeing him here made you feel a little better, even if it was just for a moment. Hyping up your courage, you make your way over to him and take a seat next to him. “Hey, you.”

Luke looks up instinctively when he hears someone talk but he almost goes straight back to his previous position before he sees you staring directly at him as you sit down. He didn’t even realize he was visible at the moment; he was too far focused on his thoughts. “Hey,” he says finally, scooching over so you had more room next to him. The two of you are quiet for a moment before Luke turns and looks at you, his already sad expression becomes worse. “Are you crying?”

You let out a huff, forcing a smile to your face and quickly wipe your cheeks. “No, I was just uh,” You don’t know how you were going to finish the sentence as you meet Luke’s eyes. “It’s stupid.” You tell him but he offers you his ear to listen. “I just failed my math test.” You shrug, watching your feet as you kick out in front of you.

Luke feels awful. He knew last night how worried you were about this exam and a large part of him regrets distracting you as much as he had, especially when he convinced you to take music break and sing to all your favorite songs, which accidentally lasted an hour long since you wanted to play some songs and bands that Luke knew as well.

“Sorry that happened.” He says and you can’t help but smile at him, feeling a little better.

“It’s okay.” You whisper. “There’s always another test.” You lean back on your hands and look at Luke, watching his smile grow a little when he meets your gaze. “What about you? You alright? Kinda look like you’ve been crying too.”

Luke has to laugh at that. He hasn’t been crying, or at least that’s what he has told himself, but since he left Julie’s place and all of his friends last night, he’s been bouncing between places to be alone, wondering what on earth he was going to do about this whole situation. “I’m okay.” He lies and your eyes narrow, knowing he’s not saying the truth.

“You know, I’m really good at keeping secrets.” Luke’s shoulders relax as he leans back on his hands too. One corner of his lips quirks up when his shoulder brushes with yours.

No matter how many times Luke and you have talked since that first night you stayed at Julie’s, there was always a moment, that first moment after talking to you so long as Jerry where he touches you and it feels like he has come alive again. Where he’s just him, and you’re just you, and he can touch you, he can feel you, and he loves it. You and him, it’s just feels natural, no matter who he is in your life.

Luke sighs, pleading with himself to look away from you, but he couldn’t do it. “What would you do if you found out someone was lying to you?”

His question causes you to inhale sharply. Your next laugh comes out short. “Um, I guess it depends on who it is, you know?” You weren’t really sure what Luke was asking.

“What if it was your best friend?” Luke plays with fingers, unsure himself where he was going with his questions.

You’re quiet a bit too long for his liking, but in truth, you’ve been worried about the prospect of Jerry lying to you for far too long. You’d like to think at this point you knew Jerry, but of course, since you’re unable to actually see him or talk to him, you’ve never truly known if it was the truth. Before you could answer, Luke shakes his head. “Sorry,” he begins, “You don’t have to answer that. “

Luke wasn’t sure if he wanted the truth or not. He knows what he’s doing as Jerry and yet, stopping those visits with you was so far from what he wanted to do, he just wasn’t sure if he could tell you… everything.

“Happy talk?” You ask Luke and he is quick to nod and the two of you shift in your seats to look at each other, glad to move on from the sad talks. “So, tell me about Sweden.”

Suddenly this happy talk wasn’t as easy as Luke thought it would be. “Sweden? You, uh, you don’t really wanna know about Sweden, right?”

“Come on!” You nudge his leg with yours, keeping your leg pressed against his when you were done. “I wanna know about where you’re from.”

Luke takes a deep breath and tries to figure out how to get out of this situation. “Well, I didn’t live there long.” He lies and immediately his stomach starts to turn. “It’s um, it’s very big.”

You wait for him to say more but he just nods his head and you raise your brows. “It’s big?” Luke nods. “Okay, um, is that all?”

Luke was beginning to think that he should’ve learned more about Sweden when Julie told everyone they were from Sweden, especially since you were bound to have asked him about it at some point, he knew you well enough that he should’ve assumed that. Instead, he could only sit there and say, “yep.”

Luke was being weird, he’s been like this before when you’ve mentioned Sweden, so figuring he’s just homesick or something, you drop the question. “Dogs or cats?”

Luke’s brow arch and he stares at you through his lashes, as if your simple question was a trick and he was supposed to figure the right answer. “What?”

You smirk, leaning forward and inadvertently getting closer to him. “Dogs or cats, it’s an easy question.

Luke leans forward as well, his eyes narrowing and he’s quiet for a moment before quickly saying, “Dogs.”

“Really?” you ask him, a little surprised by his response. Luke chuckles softly at your expression.

“Yes, really, why? What’s yours?”

“Both.”

“Both?”

“Yup.”

“I didn’t know we could say both! I thought that was against the rules.”

You click your tongue. “I make the rules, so I say both.”

“Fine, I say both too.”

“Fine with me.” It was clear, after a single conversation were neither felt upset or like you were lying, that your spirits had lifted. Just like the first night you had met Luke, the conversation only flowed from there. You talked about anything and everything you could think of. Luke had to admit that he heard quite a few of the stories for the second time since some were stories you told Jerry, but he didn’t care. He’d listen to the stories a thousand times if it meant he could see you smile and laugh your way through them.

As the sky started to darken, the two of you realized just how long you’ve been captivated by the other. Luke was certain his friends were going to be looking for him eventually as it’s been almost a whole day since he left the studio. 

“I should probably get home.” You told him, rubbing your arms as the ocean causes the air to prickle your skin. Luke nods and stands up, stretching his limbs out and reaching down to offer you a hand getting up. You happily take it, slipping your hand into Luke’s and neither of you let go when you were on your feet.

Perfectly timed with your stretching, your phone goes off and you look to see your dad’s contact on the screen along with an angry text about why you skipped school today. “Oooh, someone’s in trouble.” Luke teases you as he bumps his shoulder against yours. You chuckle at his actions before reading.

“He wants me to clean out the attic as punishment.” You sigh, shoving your phone back into your pocket.

Luke’s face scrunches. “The attic? Who does he think you are, Cinderella?”

You laugh again and shrug. “When we were moving, I didn’t feel like going through all of the boxes, so I may have shoved quite a bit of boxes up there so my dad didn’t see them. Unfortunately, that lasted about a week, but I don’t know why he’s making me clean it now, he must need something in there.”

Luke nods, looking down at your entwined hands before smiling softly. “Walk you home?” He offers. The smile on your face was all Luke needed to know you’d say yes.

Your house was barely a half an hour walk from the beach and to be honest, you’ve barely remembered the walk, only keeping Luke’s hand in yours and talking the whole time. You didn’t realize you were in front of your house until Luke stops walking, squeezing your hand tight.

“Good luck with the attic.” He tells you and you roll your eyes. “I’d offer to help but-”

“But you know I wouldn’t let you?” Luke nods at your comment before you both laugh, accidentally coming close together. Your chest was almost pressing against his as your gazes meet one another and you stay in your close bubble for just a moment longer before you clear your throat and take a step back, slowly dropping Luke’s hand at the same time. “Goodnight.” You whisper to him and Luke can’t say anything or do anything except nod. His cheeks were no doubt pink and he hoped the sky was dark enough so you wouldn’t see it. You smile at him, coursing a smile of his own to appear because how could he not smile at you. It was you.

He watches you disappear through your front door before he jumps and spins with excitement. God, it really was one thing to be able to talk to you instead of just writing things down, but when you touched him, it was like electricity. It felt like the stamps from the Hollywood Ghost Club except there was no pain. There was happiness, and warmth, and what Luke was beginning to believe can only be described as love.

---

The attic wasn’t as clean as you had remembered it being. A few of the boxes you had shoved up there had toppled over, sending a few things flying out of the boxes themselves and a layer of dust covered almost the entire room. You sent your dad a text, asking if he needed something up here or if he wants you to pull all the boxes out. Turns out you were right and he just wanted a pair of shoes you threw up here. Luckily for you, you knew exactly where they were and within 10 minutes, you were ready to get out of this dusty place. You were just about to leave before a box topples over from you shifting them around to get through. You sigh heavily, thinking about just leaving until next time someone comes up here, but you knew it would be yourself and you couldn’t do that to yourself.

So, you trudged your way back to the box, finding it easily and shoving the belongings back inside. It only took you a minute to realize none of the things in the box were yours or your dads.

They must be the old owners, you think to yourself. You knew there was probably a box or two that was forgotten was the old owners moved out, but you hadn’t seen them before when you were putting boxes up here, but you weren’t really paying attention. You thought against snooping, letting the older couple have their privacy and see if there was a way you could contact them and send them their boxes, but you couldn’t help yourself. Especially not after you see a pamphlet for an old band laying out on the ground.

The band name sounded familiar but you couldn’t remember listening to anything from a ‘Sunset Curve’. Judging by the band name and song names and the date listing the ablum in the mid-90s, it didn’t seem like the sort band a pair of grown adults would listen to. They must have had a kid or someone who was interested in this sort of music.

You almost tossed it aside. You almost shoved it back into the box without another thought to it and kept the box up here in the attic and never thought about it again. That was, until you remembered something a certain someone said to you the night you first met.

My friends and I, we had a band called Sunset Curve.

It must have been a coincidence that Luke’s band before Julie was named Sunset Curve. Maybe they just copied it right from this band, it’s been done before. But something was telling you that wasn’t the case.

You’ve never pulled out your phone faster, thumbs hitting every wrong spot on the screen until you finally pull up the internet and manage to type ‘Sunset Curve’. There were surprisingly quite a few websites that popped up and you click on the first one.

Sunset Curve: A Hollywood Tragedy

You don’t read the article yet. How could you when the picture of Luke, Alex, and Reggie along with a fourth boy were staring you in the face? You tell yourself again that it’s a coincidence, that this is taking about another Sunset Curve, that they used the wrong picture or something, that this band wasn’t a Hollywood tragedy in the 90s because your friends were barely older than 18, that this is all one big misunderstanding.

And then you read the article.

They died 26 years ago. They died 26 years ago when they were 17 years old. They died 26 years ago, when they were 17 years old, after eating hotdogs and getting food poisoning. They died 26 years ago, when they were 17 years old, after eating hotdogs and getting food poisoning together as friends.

You’ve heard this story before. You’ve cried over this story before. At first, all you thought you had to deal with was Luke, Reggie, and Alex being dead, being ghosts.

Julie and the Phantoms. That’s starting to make sense to you right about now.

Then the other pieces start to slowly slip together. Each passing second only leads you to one almost undeniable fact.

Either Luke, Reggie, or Alex is Jerry.

And you had a pretty good guess which one it was.

.

.

.

.

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Jatp: @bekkimahonxx95 // @tattoo-of-a-bird // @luna670 //  @sagittarianwolf // @magicalxdaydream //

TYJ: @quillsandtypos // @bxtchboy69 // @oldnatgwenaccount // @quackitysdrugdealer​ // @nightfurya​ // 

[thatbitchmabel]

It’s not unexpected—for some reason, from Luke it was never going to be unexpected. His lips taste like oranges, and she recalls how he used to try and peel clementines in a ring without breaking the skin into bits.

From it always leads to you in my hometown by @willexmagic (must be logged into ao3 to read)

[g1rld1ary]

hi baby !! 🧡

im sick rn and ive looked alllllll over and i couldnt find anything could you write a sickfic for luke from jatp where the female!reader gets sick ? reader is his girl 😽

im doing the same prompt on my blog because im so obsessed with the idea of sickfics and im such a luke girl

so you probably wont have much trouble figuring out who sent you this later if you look it up LMFAO 😍😍

pshsshssh thank you !! 🌼🌼

sick days ; luke patterson x fem!reader

➻ synopsis: you're not feeling well, but luke is here to look after you

➻ word count: 1905

➻ content: established relationship, implied aged up to early 20ish, pet names (love, baby, my girl), tooth rotting fluff

➻ obsessed with this request!!! i've never written a sickfic before so hope this is ok!! hope ur feeling better lovey xxxx

════ ⋆★⋆ ════

Your body ached. That was the only thing you could feel. Actually, that was incorrect; you also had a headache and a snotty nose and you were pretty sure your temperature could boil water. In essence, you felt awful. You’d toughed it out for as long as you could, making yourself a steaming hot tea and cozying into the sofa for the night. It wasn’t making you feel any better. So, in a last ditch effort of saving your night, you dialled your boyfriend.

You smiled as his croaky, half-asleep voice came through your phone, murmuring your name.

“I’m sorry, did I wake you?” You asked, brows furrowed as you checked the time, gasping when it read 1:45am. You thought it was still closer to eleven.

“Don’t worry about it, couldn’t sleep anyway,” Luke lied and you frowned, though he couldn’t see it through the screen.

“No, it’s dumb. I’m sorry I woke you up. Night, Luke.” You moved to hang up when Luke interrupted you.

“Baby, wait! Clearly something’s bothering you. What’s up?” You smiled despite your discomfort, your boyfriend always boosting your mood without even trying.

“Nothing,” You pouted in your puddle of blankets, “Just feel sick.” You could feel Luke’s pity without him saying anything and weren’t sure whether to be indignant or grateful.

“Can you stay awake for twenty more minutes, love?”

“I guess so, why?” You asked, turning the TV back on as something to keep you from sleeping.

“I love you,” Was all he said, hanging up on you abruptly. You smiled softly to yourself, willing your eyes to stay open as you tried to focus on the sitcom in front of you.

You were just dozing off when you heard your apartment door unlocking and the brief shuffling of feet in the entryway. Your grin brightened, the familiar butterflies returning to your chest, even after months of being with Luke. The man in questioned approached you quietly, pressing a soft kiss to your forehead as you looked up at him.

“Luke, it’s 2 am, what are you doing here?” You asked despite the obvious answer, opening your shield of blankets for him to crawl onto the sofa with you. He made you wait, tipping out his reusable shopping bag onto the coffee table in front of you. There lay a pint of ice cream, tea bags, painkillers, and your favourite chocolate. Suddenly you weren’t sure if the heat on your face was fever or blush. Silently you held your arms out, and Luke dove into them with all the enthusiasm of a child, peppering your faces with all the kisses he could manage.

“Couldn’t let my girl be sick on her own,” He mumbled, nuzzling himself into the crook of your neck, eliciting a bout of giggles from you.

“My very own Prince Charming,” You grinned, pecking his temple. After a gratuitous moment of cuddling Luke peeled himself off you, taking on the role of concerned caretaker. He was quick to dart into the kitchen, turning the kettle on for your tea and grabbing a spoon for the ice cream he’d bought. Sitting himself in the vacant spot next to you he fixed his focus onto the TV.

“What are we watching?” He asked, pulling the lid off the ice cream tub for you.

“How I Met Your Mother, I’ve just reached season seven.” Luke gasped dramatically, holding his hands over his chest in faux outrage.

“You continued without me? How could you?” You laughed at his accusatory tone, shrugging your shoulders.

“I’m sorry, Lukey. You have to forgive me though, I’m sick,” You punctuated the statement with a pathetic cough, smiling as Luke easily settled down.

You watched in silence for a bit, both giggling at the stupid jokes. After a while you felt Luke looking at you seriously, but chose not to think much of it, continuing to tune in to the show. When he pulled out a thermometer, you raised an eyebrow. Luke wasn’t usually one to be so prepared, but you let him rest it on your tongue nonetheless. When it read a concerningly high number Luke frowned, silently popping the painkillers out of their packaging, feeding you with the insistence of a fed up mother hen.

“Why aren’t you a nurse?” You joked, swallowing the medication with a mouthful of melted ice cream, “Rockstar be damned.”

“Only for you, love.”

“That’s not true, I’ve seen you fretting over Reggie,” You laughed, and Luke couldn’t help but join you.

“That’s fair. You’re my favourite, though.”

“How unexpected.” You craned your neck to press a kiss to his jaw, revelling in the dumb grin that crept onto his face.

You both settled into silence, you leant into Luke’s side, his hands rubbing soft circles into your thigh. You could feel yourself drifting in and out of sleep, never quite able to stay in it for one reason or another. The blanket was too hot, you were cold without it, your head hurt. Nothing was quite right and all you wanted to do was sleep for as long as humanly possible.

“Luke?” You whispered, in case he was already asleep.

“Yes, love?” He replied, shifting his position to look down at you. You faltered for a moment, overwhelmed with the pure adoration in his eyes.

“Will you play for me?” Luke was up in a second, arranging you on the sofa. You giggled as he manhandled you, lying you down and wrapping you tightly in your blanket so you couldn’t escape. You teased him about being his captive audience as he tuned his guitar quickly, never being so grateful for his perfect pitch.

Without anymore holdups Luke began to play, plucking softly at the strings to create a melody that filled the air of your little apartment. His playing was like a siren call, pressing weights on your eyelids until you could barely stand to keep them open. You watched him while you could, admiring the way the faint light from the kitchen lamp made him look like an Adonis, his hair illuminated in gold and his features accentuated by the shadows. You couldn’t believe he was your boyfriend. Luke Patterson, heartthrob of Julie and the Phantoms was your dorky, adoring boyfriend who would make supermarket trips in the middle of the night for you. Who had your favourite ice cream memorised and your key attached to his, so he could come see you whenever he missed you (which was pretty much always).

Despite the various aches and pains that had overtaken your body, the only thing you could feel as you drifted off to sleep was the burning ball of light in your chest, a chemical mixture of joy and love and gratitude, overtaking your senses one by one until you were asleep, dreams filled of beautiful images of your boyfriend.

When you woke up the next morning, you figured out it wasn’t morning at all. Luke had evidently switched off your phone’s alarm after you’d fallen asleep, and it was well into early afternoon when you’d arisen. To his credit though, the sleep had done you some good, and you felt much less like walking death after an intense sleep.

You untangled yourself from the knit blanket, your feet wobbly on the hard wood floors. You had serious post-nap daze, and wandered through your flat looking for your boyfriend. The poorly made sheets on your actual bed told you where Luke slept last night — or this morning, more accurately — you smiled at the way he’d arranged your stuffed animals.

Stuck to the fridge under your New York City magnet was a note from Luke, explaining he had to go to rehearsal but he’d be back later to check on you. You pulled the paper off, travelling back to your room to put the note in your ‘Luke’ box, adding to the collection of notes and drawings he’d given you inconsequentially that you’d held onto.

As the afternoon ticked by you’d gotten onto your computer, figuring that although you were still ill you should try and get something productive done. You were armed with your box of tissues as you got started on an assignment you had due at the end of the week, and slipped your headphones on to get into the headspace.

You screamed as a pair of arms wrapped around you from behind, quickly dissolving into giggles as you realised it was only Luke, back from rehearsal.

“Your voice still sounds scratchy, baby, how are you feeling?” He asked, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“Better, promise. Tomorrow I’ll probably go to class if I get another good night’s sleep.”

“That’s my girl.” He grinned, and you felt your insides melting all over again. You closed the laptop, knowing you weren’t going to get much more done now that Luke was with you.

You spent the evening together, ordering in pizza from the place around the corner and getting slightly wine drunk as Luke told you all about his earlier rehearsal and the antics of his band. He sang you part of the new song he and Julie had written and you applauded dramatically, only stopping when you broke into a coughing fit.

“Wanna watch something?” He asked when you grew tired again, cuddling up to him like a cat.

“Barbie?” You asked hopefully, looking up at him with wide eyes. Luke sighed dramatically, but you knew he was just pretending not to like the animated movies you’d grown up on.

“Only if it’s Island Princess,” He offered and you nodded enthusiastically.

The two of you settled in for the movie night, Luke getting much more into the movie as it went on, as he always did. By the end you were singing duets — your voice considerably less pleasing than his, especially due to your illness — Luke taking on the role of the prince letting you be Ro.

As the credits rolled you felt your eyes closing again, and you felt eerily like you did as a younger girl, falling asleep on the couch after a Barbie movie. This was better though, because now you had Luke next to you. He’d taken his role as big spoon extremely seriously, and had all but become one with the couch, pressing into the back as he wrapped his arms around you tightly.

You shifted your position to face him, watching his face relax into contentedness as he tried to doze off to sleep. Feeling you watch him he cracked one eye open, mouth producing a dumb grin that made butterflies erupt in your chest.

“What?” He asked, but you got the distinct impression he knew exactly what you were thinking.

“Nothing,” You lied, but gave in easily, “You’re pretty.”

“You’re pretty too. Now go to sleep.” You nodded, pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

“Kay, goodnight Lukey. I love you.”

“Love you too, my girl. So much.” His answer was muffled by him pressing his face into your hair to pull you closer, but you couldn’t wipe the smile from your face even as sleep enveloped you.

[iamfarfromvibingrightnow]

no thoughts just flynns oh moment

[missjoolee]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Julie Molina/Luke Patterson Characters: Julie Molina, Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn Taylor, Alex Mercer (Julie and The Phantoms), Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms) Additional Tags: small acts of vandalism, Flirting, Revenge, Minor Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Eggs, Getting Together, Kissing, awkward julie molina, Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies Summary:

They walk in silence for a few minutes. Julie's thoughts bounce between her anger and frustrations, and the boy walking next to her whose eyes burn into her every time they glance over. She has no clue what's she is going to say to Flynn when they arrive. Eventually, he decides to ask the question that's apparently been on the tip of his brain since she exited the store.

"Are you guys having, like, a bake sale or something?"

When the night she has planned almost ends before it starts, Julie recruits Luke (and by proxy the rest of Sunset Curve) to help her and Flynn pull off a revenge scheme of epic proportions.

Hoping to only gain a little bit of vengeance, Julie is unprepared for the memories and relationships that begin to blossom.

----------------------------------------------------------

Excerpt under the cut

Julie made a mistake. It happened... occasionally.

Look, Tetris has never been her game. And all of her instruments have custom bags with nice fitted slots for them to go into. So how was she to realize the six dozen eggs she just bought wouldn't fit in the reusable grocery bag she'd brought with her? The cartons were just barely too long to sit properly in the bottom so she couldn't even use the darn thing to carry a couple of them lest a carton open up and eggs start breaking inside the bag. She needs like an egg carton... crate or something. She glares at the store's bags fluttering in the air conditioning, taunting her with their ability to hold a carton of eggs. She doesn't have any cash to pay for them and the store has a minimum for card.

Sighing, she loops the handles of her bag up to her elbow and slowly starts stacking the cartons in her arms. Guess she will have to GusGus her way out of this one. It's going to take her so long to get back to Flynn. Tucking the last carton under her chin, she slowly brings her hand back down to add support to the bottom of the stack. Then slowly, carefully, she makes her way towards the exit of the store.

The doors slide open at her approach and hot summer air hits her, accompanied by the thrumming chords of a guitar from Luke, the guy that likes to busk near this corner shop in Malibu. He was a nice guy, easy on the eyes. Very. Easy. Julie had stopped many times to listen/talk to him when she was in the area to hang out at Carrie's. Anger floods her at the thought of her now ex-friend.

The guitar screeched to an abrupt stop.

"Whoa, Julie. Do you need help?"

She pauses and considers, but doesn't want to impose. She knows he needs the money he makes from busking to get things for his band.

"O-oh, no. I've got it." She takes another step forward, her shoe immediately catching on a parking block, and she's suddenly tilting forward. Of course this is how she is to go. In a pile of raw eggs in a parking lot on a humid night in front of the guy she's been crushing on for months now. Of course.

Hands catch her shoulders, preventing that sad reality from happening. "Are you sure about that, boss? I don't mind walking with you."

Heat flames her cheeks at the teasing tone, but she doesn't have time to let her embarrassment dictate her actions right now. So, reluctantly looking up at him, she relents. The moment their eyes make contact, the corners of his lips lift up in a soft smile. Despite all the twisted emotions running within her, her stomach flutters.

"Yeah, that'd be helpful. Thanks."

"Let me just.." He gestures behind him at his guitar case awkwardly, before rushing to pack up his things. Slinging the case to his back, he steps back up to her. "Alright, give me half."

She shifts her feet. "I think you will have to take them from me. Something is bound to fall if I move."

"Oh, right!" He quickly, but carefully, takes the top three cartons from her. "Lead the way!"

Julie nods her head to the left. "It's that way."

They walk in silence for a few minutes. Julie's thoughts bounce between her anger and frustrations, and the boy walking next to her whose eyes burn into her every time they glance over. She has no clue what's she is going to say to Flynn when they arrive. Eventually, he decides to ask the question that's apparently been on the tip of his brain since she exited the store.

"Are you guys having, like, a bake sale or something?"

She smirks humorlessly, turning onto the street with the gradual hill upwards. Walls now line the manicured lawns instead of a sidewalk, forcing them to walk in the street. The further they travel, the larger the houses beyond those walls gets.

"Not exactly." Her reply hangs between them. She knows she should offer more explanation than that, but maybe the less he knows the better. Instead, she asks, "What have you been working on recently?"

An elated grin spreads across Luke's face before he jumps right into talking about the latest songs he's been working on. It's actually quite pleasant. The last vestiges of the sun setting, a cool breeze offsetting the heat radiating from the pavement of the street. The attention of her crush smiling down at her. It would be perfect any other night.

The curve of the street eventually reveals a figure with a large package waiting out front of one of the mansions.

"Jules!" Flynn's figure steps out from the shadows of the property's wall. "What took you so long? What's Luke doing here?"

Luke answers before Julie can. "Hey! I insisted on helping after Julie almost immediately dropped all these eggs in the parking lot."

Flynn shoots Julie an unimpressed raised eyebrow. Julie shrugs her shoulders, minding not to jostle the eggs too much. While the girls are silently communicating, Luke's gaze seems to have registered the package at Flynn's feet is an 18-pack of toilet paper and begins to bounce back and forth between it and the eggs. The toilet paper, then the eggs in his arms, back to the toilet paper, to the eggs in Julie's arms, comprehension registers on his face.

"Whoa. What did someone do to piss you two off?"

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

I don't think pancakes are gonna fix this. I need ice cream too, for the band/whoever you want!

okay full disclosure, i'm a little bit terrified to post this. I've never done this ship before 🙈 or this trope/plot device... but. due to the typical people at fault for the fics that enter my brain... (*ahem* @narcissusbrokenmirror and unnamed party who DOESN'T DO TUMBLR) it exists. and meant I finally had something to write that fit this prompt! (and there's a little treat in here for you) I hope someone likes it 😅 a part II is also planned. just... later.

“Heeeeeey Lukey, you’re up early,” Reggie exclaims from in front of his electric griddle. He’s been busy making pancakes for their weekly band brunch. “Where’ve you been?”

Luke stares, unseeing, as he moves through the motions of removing his shoes by the door. He’d just gotten back home after running out unexpectedly a few hours earlier. Only Willie had been awake early enough to see him off.

“Luke?” Reggie calls back out from the kitchen.

Luke doesn’t answer. He just rounds the doorway into Reggie’s sightline. 

Reggie looks up from pouring the next batch of pancakes, almost dropping the bowl when he catches sight of Luke’s face. It’s very nearly expressionless and entirely unlike Luke.

He recovers quickly and sets the bowl  gently on the counter before bounding over to Luke. 

“Luke? Buddy?” Reggie asks, trying to catch Luke’s gaze. “What happened?”

Luke opens and closes his mouth, trying to speak but can’t manage to make sound.

“Alex! Willie?” Reggie calls desperately, raising his voice loudly enough to ensure they hear him.

They both appear almost instantly.

“What’s-” Alex starts to ask before catching sight of Luke and cutting himself off. 

“Something’s wrong,” Reggie cries, panic edging into his voice. 

Alex runs a hand through his hair as he gulps in a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. Let’s…” he looks around the kitchen and then back out to the living room. “Let’s get him sitting down somewhere.” 

Alex and Reggie each grab one of Luke’s arms and try to steer him toward the couch. 

Reggie suddenly drops the arm he’d been holding and turns back toward the kitchen. “Shit! The-”

“It’s okay, I’ve got it,” Willie assures him, picking up the flipper. They gesture back toward Luke. “You take care of Luke, I’ll finish these.”

Reggie sends them a small grateful smile and grabs back hold of Luke. He helps Alex guide Luke to the couch where they gently set him down.

Reggie kneels in front of Luke, trying again to catch his gaze. When he fails, he sets a hand on each of Luke’s knees. The contact seems to jolt Luke back to reality, at least slightly. 

Alex sits next to him on the sofa. Luke leans into his side and Alex wraps an arm around Luke’s shoulders.

“I got you. We’ve got you. You’re okay,” Alex murmurs softly. 

Luke’s eyes go glassy as he settles back into the present, soaking in the comforting presence of his best friends. 

Reggie decides to try again. “What’s going on?”

Luke raises his eyes to meet Reggie’s. “Carrie’s pregnant.”

Reggie jumps back in surprise while Alex’s brow furrows. 

“Carrie… Like Carrie Wilson,” Alex confirms. 

Luke nods. 

“Why…? Luke…” Alex pulls back slightly and turns so he can face Luke. “Luke, why would that affect you?”

Luke looks up at Alex with sad eyes. 

Reggie’s eyes widen in understanding. “Luke! When? Carrie?! How?” he stammers through his shock.

Luke takes a deep breath and pulls himself fully away from Alex. He clasps his hands together and stares at them to  avoid looking at Alex or Reggie. “The night of  the Billboards,” he explains.

“You and Carrie?” Reggie asks again, disbelief still present in his voice.

Luke nods. 

“How? I mean. It’s Carrie. And you. I just…”

“I know. It just… happened.”

“And you never told us?” Alex chimes in, betrayed.

Luke shakes his head. 

“Okay. Don’t think we won’t be revisiting that later. But. Is she okay? Does she know what she wants to do? Do you know what you want her to do?”

Another shake of Luke’s head. He collapses back into Alex. 

Reggie climbs up to wrap his arms around both of them. “You know we’ve got you, right? No matter what,” he murmurs.

Luke nods into Alex’s chest. 

Reggie’s thighs start burning from how he’s perched for their little huddle. He’s just about to pull away when they hear the apartment door open and close. 

“Julie,” Reggie whispers. As always, she’s perfectly on time for brunch.

The three of them pull apart. “Do you want her to know?” Alex asks sincerely.

Luke’s mouth opens in an attempt to answer but his efforts are stalled as they hear Willie call out from the kitchen, very obviously warning them of Julie’s arrival. “They’re in the living room.”

The guys don’t speak as they watch the doorway for Julie. 

Julie enters the room and immediately stops. She takes in their state and her face scrunches up in concern.

“What’s wrong?” she asks, slow and wary. 

Alex and Reggie both turn to Luke, waiting to follow his lead. He looks up at Reggie with wide, pleading eyes. 

Reggie furrows his brow in silent question. At Luke’s slight nod, he turns back to Julie. “Carrie’s pregnant,” he tells her, rushing through the pair of words as if it’ll make it easier to say. And hear.

“Okaaaaay,” she counters slowly. 

“It’s Luke’s,” he adds just as quickly. 

Julie turns wide, disbelieving eyes on Luke. “Really?”

He nods. 

“Shit.”

They stare at each other in silence for a moment before she breaks it. “Are you okay?”

Luke’s eyes fill with tears and he shakes his head. 

Julie walks over to the couch and shoves Luke and Alex over to make room. She wedges herself between Luke and the arm of the sofa.  Julie takes Luke’s hand and gently strokes the back of it with her thumb. “Tell me about it?” she offers.

“There’s nothing to tell, really. We were both pissed at how the Billboards went, hooked up, never spoke about it again. Until…”

“Yeah,” Julie softly responds, saving him from having to finish the sentence. 

“There’s a uh… lot of details missing there, Luke,” Reggie chimes in. 

Alex swats Reggie’s shoulder with the back of his hand. 

Reggie rubs his shoulder and glares at Alex. “That are totally none of our business,” he adds hastily.

“It was so… stupid!” Luke exclaims. He pulls his hand back from Julie. He scrubs at his face before running his hands up into his hair. He leans over to rest his elbows on his knees, supporting his face in his hands.

“Hey,” Julie counters gently, pulling his hands away from his head. “Hey, I think we all did some pretty stupid shit that night.”

“We did?!” Reggie squeaks.

“We did,” Julie confirms. She averts her gaze but the blush rising up her face is unmistakable. 

Reggie narrows his eyes at her. “What stupid shit did Julie do?”

“We’re not talking about me right now.”

“Hm. Well, maybe knowing Julie’s stupid shit will make Luke feel better,” Reggie counters, looking pointedly at Luke. 

“Yeah, I don’t think so,” Julie says, drawing out the ‘yeah’ to make her doubt clear.

Luke lifts his gaze up, trying to catch hers. He narrows his eyes. “What did you do, Julie?”

“I… really don’t think you want to know. Forget I said anything.”

Luke cocks his head and looks at her sideways. “You know that’s not gonna happen.”

Julie stands. She turns toward them and then back away, uncertainty lacing every movement. 

“Julie?” Alex tries. “Jules, it can’t be that bad.”

“It’s not that bad if I keep it to myself,” she murmurs.

Luke lets out a good-humoured scoff, “It’s not like you hooked up with Bobby or something.”

Julie stops in her tracks. Her eyes widen and she gapes at them. 

Luke’s expression shifts to mimic hers. “You hooked up with Bobby?!” He exclaims, disbelieving and angry.

Alex sets a calming hand on Luke’s knee. Luke brushes it off. 

Alex quickly glares at Luke before redirecting his attention to Julie, “Okay well, you’re not pregnant too, right?”

“No!” Julie assures them. “I mean, probably. I don’t think so… No. No, I can’t be. I’m not.”

“Are you and Bobby like… together?” Luke asks slowly. 

Julie shakes her head. “No. No, it was just… We got lost in the chaos of everything that night. I swear. It only happened the once,” she pauses to consider before continuing, “Well, the one night.”

Luke’s face twists up in disgust, “Ew. Gross. I do not want to know. You’re right. I don’t feel better.” He groans. “But at least I didn’t hook up with… him.” Luke’s expression contorts into a final  grimace.

Alex sighs, “Okay, can we get back to the issue at hand?”

“Pancakes?” Reggie exclaims hopefully. 

“No, Reggie. Not pancakes.”

“Pancakes fix everything,” Reggie mumbles. “Sue me for trying to help. Though… they’re probably cold by now…”

“I don't think pancakes are gonna fix this… We need ice cream too,” Luke murmurs. 

Reggie jumps up and bounds toward the kitchen. “Willie! Willie, we need to dig out the ice cream to have with our pancakes! It’s an emergency. What kinds do we have?” He trips over his feet in his enthusiasm, just barely managing to recover before face planting on the floor. 

Alex, Luke, and Julie shake their heads fondly as they watch him leave. 

Julie turns back around to Luke. She crouches in front of him and takes his hands. “We good?”

“Yeah, we’re good. Let’s just… never talk about it again please?”

Julie nods her agreement. “You bet. Are you going to be okay?”

“No, but we’ll figure it out. We always do, right?”

Julie smiles up at him. “Right.”

“And we’re all here with and for you,” Alex confirms. He puts his hand on Luke’s back. “All of it. No matter what.”

Luke directs a sad smile at Alex. “Thanks, man.”

Alex nods once in acknowledgement. “Should we go see what kind of mess those two have managed to create in the last three minutes?”

Luke and Julie cough out matching laughs. Julie stands, pulling Luke up with her. She squeezes his hands twice before letting one go and pulling him toward the kitchen.

[collecting-stories]

Hi! Congrats on 11k! Can I request a soulmate au with Luke from jatp with sharing songs please :)

Oh my gosh thank you!!! Also I’m really excited about this, I haven’t written Luke in like, a while so it’s nice to kind of dust off the JatP! Thanks for requesting!!!

-

Troubadour - Luke Patterson

Summary: YOU’RE THE VOICE I HEAR INSIDE MY HEAD THE REASON THAT I’M SINGING I NEED TO FIND - not quite but Luke gets a set of chords stuck in his head and it turns out they’re yours.

A/N: I went with this one (but like Sunset Curve in the 90’s style) sharing songs = they keep hearing songs that they can’t find on the internet, finally realizing that they are their soulmate’s own, unpublished songs

Julie and the Phantoms Masterlist || Celebrate 11k with me

✰ ✰ ✰ ✰

“What are you playing?”

Luke stopped mid-hum, fingers stilling on his guitar and looking over at Alex. They’d been taking a break from practice but Luke had been strumming the same few chords for the last couple minutes. It wasn’t unusual behaviour but Luke typically would’ve been writing down lyrics or trying to figure out the next piece of the song. As far as Alex could tell he was just transfixed on those chords and nothing else.

“Uh,” Luke faltered for a minute, racking his brain for the name of the song that had been stuck in his for the last few weeks. “I…I don’t know,” he admitted.

“Do you have anything written yet?” Reggie looked almost hopeful as he asked. He’d been sneaking lyrics into Luke’s notebook lately. They weren’t bad but they also weren’t Sunset Curve by a longshot.

“It’s not mine,” Luke explained, “I spent all day yesterday at the record store on palermo and still can’t find it…”

“Where’d you hear it first?” Alex asked, interest piqued at this bit of information. Luke had an undeniable ear for music. He could know a song just from the opening strum of the guitar or strike of the drums. It was unusual that he didn’t recognise a song he’d been playing over and over again.

“That’s the thing,” Luke admitted, setting his guitar in its stand and getting up to pace around the room. “I don’t really remember. Like I just woke up one morning and it was in my head.”

“And you haven’t heard it anywhere else?” Bobby asked, coming back into the garage with water bottles for the four of them.

“No.” Luke shook his head, getting a little frustrated with the questions but more so just because he felt like he didn’t have any of the answers he wanted. “It just was stuck in my head one day and I haven’t been able to find it anywhere. Look, it’s whatever. Let’s just get back to practice. Reggie wants to go to that show tonight-“

“We can’t miss it, it’s open mic once a month, if it seems like a good crowd, we should think about putting our names down.” Reggie replied, cutting Luke off. He’d been telling them about this venue for a couple weeks now, since he and Bobby had gone down there for a show and seen a flyer about their amateur band nights. Unsigned bands in LA could perform for fairly regular crowds. It was better than anything they’d been doing.

“We won’t miss it,” Bobby said, grabbing his guitar.

-

The crowd was a good one tonight, not packed but full enough that Luke felt the familiar warmth of being surrounded by eager concert-goers. Alex pushed forward, the other three following him to the edge of the stage. There was a band performing, a group of 20-something guys dressed more like accountants than rockers but their music was good.

As the set finished, Luke turned away from the stage, listening to Bobby talking about how it seemed so far. Trust him to be the most analytical of the four of them. Luke was always all about the music but Bobby had a head for the business side of things too. It didn’t take long to switch out instruments, none of the bands seemed interested in keeping the crowd waiting for too long, not when most of them were just trying to get their names out there.

Luke still had his back turned as the house lights dimmed and the next band came out.

-

You weren’t normally this nervous about performing but lately you’d had a song stuck in your head and it’d been distracting you from working on your own music. As soon as you sat down to write it was there in the back of your head. You’d had songs kind of, creep up on you before. Words or chords just got stuck until you wrote them out but something about this song told you it wasn’t something you’d dreamed up yourself. It didn’t feel like you at all, more like you were hearing someone else’s song in your ear.

You hadn’t told anyone about it and now you were getting ready to go on with your band, hopeful that you didn’t mess up, trying to combat the song in your head with your own chords.

The crowd had some good energy, seemingly more welcoming than when you had been here the last time. “Hey, thanks for letting us take up some of your time tonight, this song is a new one I’ve been working on. I think I finally got it, I’ll let you guys decide,” the comment was met with some laughs and you smiled, trying to calm your heart from going haywire in your chest, “alright, here we go.”

You started strumming and Luke turned around, his eyes wide as he stared up at you. All he could remember was what Reggie had said on the way over, these were all new bands that didn’t have records, that hadn’t been signed. You said yourself you had just finished the song you were singing, but, Luke knew that song.

“That’s the song,” he said, nudging Alex, “that’s the song!”

“What song?” Alex asked, turning so he could hear him better, “you mean the song you were playing earlier today?”

“yeah; that’s it.”

“How is that possible, Luke, we’ve never seen these guys play before.” Alex reasoned. It didn’t make any sense that Luke would know a song before it even existed in the world, “maybe you’ve just got some chords stuck in your head and it sounds like that.”

“No,” Luke shook his head and looked back up at the stage. It was impossible to really see the crowd, he knew that, he’d been on stage enough times to know that you’re really just looking out at silhouettes. But as he looked up you turned your head and he swore your eyes locked with his. He could feel a pounding in his chest like the nerves he got before a show, sweat beaded on the back of his neck and goosebumps erupted on his skin. It was like his whole body was mirroring yours and you looked like you knew.

He wanted to pull you off stage and ask you how you’d done it. How had he heard that song in his head when it was only just finished, how had the words all seemed so familiar when just that afternoon he couldn’t remember any of them. Luke was stuck in that moment until he felt the house lights come up and he was blinking from the change, turning his head back and forth. He felt like he’d been dreaming, if he pinched himself he almost expected to wake up in the garage again.

“Luke!” Alex grabbed his arm and brought him back down to reality. He was awake after all, “where are you going? The next band is getting ready to play.”

“I have to find that singer…that, I…that’s the song.”